#JUST_BEST_FRIENDS

Author: Sam Freddy

CHAPTER 31: PEACE OF MIND.

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To Tayo, Idara's call was nothing but a miracle from heaven.

Earlier on, he'd been living his normal routine at work; dedicating his undivided attention to his customers, minding his own business as usual, until he got Idara's call.

Little did Tayo know that he'd end up chilling with Idara in a cinema tonight.

They'd actually just finished seeing a movie titled The Fault in Our Stars, and they were both left spellbound after the experience.

“God, that movie is amazing!” Idara confessed, twirling on her way out of the cinema. “So amazing!”

Tayo laughed at Idara's antics, watching how her creamy ocean blue mini-dress swayed around her body. “I couldn't agree more, dear!”

“I'm telling you, man!” Idara gasped dramatically, her eyes wide open. “That legit has to be the best film I've seen this year!”

Tayo smiled, nodding. “True. Me, too.”

In all sincerity, Tayo had never seen Idara so happy and beautiful like she was tonight. She was wearing light make-up and a brown shoulder-length wig on her head, which he found pretty cool. He'd long noticed her undying love for the colour blue, so he wasn't surprised about her crochet purse and fancy sneakers which were both hues of blue and white.

As if that wasn't enough swag, Idara actually held a bottle of Pepsi with its standard blue, red and white logo matching her outfit big time.

“See you looking all bluish and whitish.” Tayo complimented her in a rather silly manner, nudging her arm playfully. “You definitely look like a Pepsi ambassador.”

“Eww! No way!” Idara gave herself a once-over, chuckling. “Yeesh! I'm afraid it's true!”

“You see?” Tayo sipped from his own Chapman bottle, nudging her arm again. “I'm always accurate.”

In order to come up with a perfect comeback, Idara had to study Tayo's outfit for a moment. Basically, he was wearing a brown cap, a sleek wine-colored jacket with grey stripes, an off-white T-shirt inside, coupled with a fitted dark blue jeans, and a pair of reddish palm slippers. The man surely had a dope fashion sense.

Facially, Tayo would've been spotless, if not for the tiny birthmark below his lips. But it didn't disfigure him in any way, though. He was still ravishingly handsome with those thick black sideburns, mustache, goatee and those small, cute black eyes.

There was literally nothing Idara could troll him with, and she hated that so, so much.

“Let me guess, you just finished checking me out and realized that there's nothing you can yab me with, right?”

Idara scoffed, smiling, letting her eyes roam around the amazing amusement park. “You're just lucky, man, that's it.”

“Oh, really?” Tayo's eyebrows quirked. “Did you really just say that?”

“Yup.” Idara sipped her drink with a silly glance at Tayo. “And there's absolutely nothing you can do about it.”

With a devilish grin on his face, Tayo said, “Okay, we'll see about that.”

Honestly, the next thing that happened was hilarious. In a split second, Tayo actually snatched Idara's wig and started running away with it. Laughing uncontrollably, she chased him around the park until they both entered a lovely garden and crashed on its lawn.

Immediately they hit the ground, Idara snatched her wig back from Tayo and smacked his right hand hard. “You devil!”

Tayo laughed out loud, sitting up. “Don't blame me. You pushed me.”

Idara simply groaned at that, tossing her empty Pepsi bottle into a nearby trash can.

“Wow!” Tayo marvelled at her accuracy. “Nice shot!”

“Thanks.” Idara shrugged. “I can see you're done with yours, too. Why don't you also give it a try?”

“Nah, I'm not really good at throwing things.”

“Just try jor,” Idara persuaded him, “I have faith in you.”

“Okay.” Tayo agreed. “Here goes nothing.”

With that, Tayo targeted the trash can with squinted eyes, and then he flung his Chapman bottle with high hopes of winning, but he failed woefully. The bottle didn't even head anywhere near the trash bin at all. It actually landed in a gutter instead.

“Oh, my God!” Idara burst into laughter, her arms aloft. “Man, you suck!”

“Told ya.” Tayo sighed, arms crossed. “I can't even aim properly at a trash can, let alone a girl's heart.”

Idara's laughter ceased the moment she heard that. Surely, Tayo had referenced that to her. She'd really given him a tough time for so long without even knowing it, and now it was starting to affect his confidence.

If only she'd known that things would end this way between she and Yomi, she would've given Tayo a chance a long time ago. She would've opted for someone who truly loved her than someone who had no direction, someone who couldn't differentiate between light and darkness, someone who couldn't even acknowledge her presence in his life.

But all that was in the past now. She was once a fool for Yomi, but not anymore. Henceforth, she'd decided to live her life her own way. No more acting like a puppet, no more living to please anyone, no more wasting time on irresponsible people and thus ignoring the people who really mattered.

It was time for a change for once in her life. A real change.

“Look, Tayo, I'm really sorry for all the trouble I've caused you so far.”

Tayo cocked his head back in surprise. “Uh, what're you talking about?”

“Come on, you know what I mean.” Idara wrapped her arms around herself, shyly. “You once said it yourself that I'm so hard to deal with, and frankly I don't even know what my problem is, but one thing I do know for sure is that I should've decided sooner than now. God knows that I'm truly sorry for stressing you, T.”

Tayo smirked, impressed by Idara's pure honesty. “It's okay, Elle.” He shrugged. “You're here with me now, and that is all that really matters.”

Truly, Idara's presence was what really mattered to Tayo. He couldn't even count the number of days and nights he'd spent fantasizing about him and Idara cruising everywhere together, especially at the beach. All he ever wanted to do was spend quality time with her, and tonight seemed to be the perfect time to do so.

He wouldn't mess this chance up for any reason whatsoever. None at all.

“Sooo…” Idara drawled after a while, smiling. “I've got some questions for you, T.”

“Oh, all right. Go on.”

“Okay, so I've been wondering what exactly it is you do. I mean, I know that you're some sort of computer geek who has various clients, but I don't even know what you really specialize in. Is it fraud or something? Are you a Yahoo boy?”

“What?” Tayo burst out laughing. “That's ridiculous!”

“I know, I know.” Idara couldn't help but laugh too. “I'm just curious, is all.”

“Nigerians!” Tayo shook his head amid laughter. “You people will never cease to amaze me with your opinions about guys with laptops. It's honestly absurd.”

“Omo, I was just joking na.”

“I know, Elle.” Tayo removed his cap and placed it beside Idara's wig on the grass. “Okay, let me explain. I'm a computer wiz who specializes in web designing, creating blogs and vlogs and making useful applications. I'm also a writer, as you already know, so most times I work as a freelance writer for some firms and some particular clients who pay me well.”

“Wow, that's interesting.” Idara was really impressed. “So you're telling me that you can work from the comfort of your home if you want to?”

“Yup.” Tayo confirmed, offering her a side grin. “But I don't really like staying at home, that's why I'm currently working in a cybercafé, at least to meet new people and expand my organic reach.”

“Wicked!” Idara remarked, clapping. “You really got a whole lot going on for yourself, man. Now I understand how you got that sleek car with tinted glasses.”

Tayo giggled. “Funny bone,” he pinched her nose. “It's just God's grace, dear.”

“I see.” Idara chuckled, slapping Tayo's lap in return. “So would you like to know what I do?”

“Nah, I already know you're a tailor. No need.”

“Dude!” Idara gasped, feeling ridiculed. “You didn't have to put it that way!”

“Sorry?”

“I mean, "tailor" just sounds weird. I personally prefer the term "seamstress", 'cause it makes me feel sexy.”

Tayo facepalmed, laughing. “Women! My God!”

Idara sneered. “It is what it is, bruv.”

“You know, I just realized that we haven't even taken any pictures today.” Tayo announced, alarmed. “Should we take a selfie now?”

“Of course. I'd love that.” Idara consented, digging into her purse. “Let's use my phone. My camera is better than yours.”

Tayo scoffed. “You wish.”

“Blah, blah, blah.” Idara handed her phone to Tayo with a simper. “Come on, it's up to you, man. Take the picture.”

In a bid to locate Idara's camera app, Tayo accidentally entered her gallery and saw something fascinating. “Wow.”

“What?” Idara noted the look of surprise on his face. “What's that?”

Tayo showed her immediately. “She's beautiful.”

A bolt of fright practically tore through Idara's spine when she saw it. “Oh no.”

“No, I'm serious. She's pretty!” Tayo misinterpreted Idara's words. “I can tell that she's your mom due to the resemblance between you both. You never told me your mom is this beautiful.”

“I thought I deleted that picture.” Idara mused to herself, gradually growing tense. “Why's it still on my phone?”

Now, Tayo realized that something wasn't right about Idara's mood. “What's up, Elle? Is anything the matter?”

“Please, give me my phone back.” Idara demanded politely, her fists clenched.

Utterly lost, Tayo handed her the phone and watched as she deleted her mother's picture just like that.

“Dara, why'd you do that?!”

“'Cause I had to!” Idara slapped her forehead in annoyance. “It had to be done.”

“Why? Why would you do something like that? What's going on?”

“It was just a picture, Tayo. Let it go!”

“It's not just about the picture.” Tayo said, his eyes locked with Idara's. “There's more to it. I can see it in your eyes. What're you hiding?”

Defeated, Idara sighed and said, “Look, T, there's a lot going on that you don't even know, and I honestly don't know where to start explaining from.”

“Just start from anywhere. I'm all ears.”

Hesitantly, Idara said, “Okay. So, let me just put it this way: I hate my mom.”

“Why?”

“Because she abandoned me when I was five.” Idara felt a soft breeze blowing through her natural silky hair as she added softly, “And now she's back after twenty years, trying to restore the bond we once had, but I won't let that happen.”

Tayo gave Idara's statement a proper consideration before speaking: “This is indeed complicated, and I won't even pretend to know exactly how you feel about this whole thing, but I do know for sure that it's not really nice for you. However, I feel like there's more to this issue than meets the eye. I'd like to say a few things, but I can't conclude yet unless I know the full story. So, in short, is there something else I need to know, Elle?”

“Actually, there is.” Idara clicked on her phone's gallery and scrolled down to a particular picture. “Here. Have it.”

Tayo collected Idara's phone and his eyes widened automatically on seeing the picture. “What the hell?”

“Surprising, right?” Idara folded her hands, scoffing. “I also reacted like you when I first saw it. It's insane.”

“He looks just like you, Elle!” Tayo exclaimed, examining the picture. “Who is he?”

“That's my half-brother, Matthew. He's fifteen.” Idara uttered indifferently. “I've never met him before, and I don't even think I want to.”

“Honestly, the resemblance between you two is unreal.” Tayo swallowed hard. “How did you find out about him, though?”

“Well, two days ago, my mom and I met at a restaurant where we talked for a while, and she told me things. A lot of things.” Idara explained, wrapping her arms around her legs. “Part of the things she mentioned were Matthew and Engineer Kalu.”

Tayo arched his eyebrows in confusion. “Engineer who?”

“Kalu, her ex-husband.” Idara said dully. “He's Matthew's father, and he lives in London with his son. According to my mom, Kalu divorced her when he found out about me and my dad, because she lied to him that she was alone and had no family. Can you imagine that, T? People are so cruel!”

Tayo shook his head in amazement. “Unbelievable.”

Idara shook her head too, in silence.

“This is just crazy.” Tayo said, scratching his head, processing everything he'd heard so far. “But there's something I'd like to ask you before we go any further. May I?”

“Sure. Go on, please.”

“Okay,” Tayo began. “So, judging from what I've heard from you so far, I can tell that you're not that close with your mom, Dara. Now, how were you able to get her picture and your step-brother's picture too? I'm just curious.”

Idara sighed, linking her feet together. “Funnily enough, my mom actually follows me on Facebook. That was where she officially found me and texted me. When I asked her how she found me, she gave me this crappy reply about Facebook placing me in her "People You May Know" category or something. Then, one day, she called me and I asked her how she got my number, but she blatantly refused to tell me. Till date, I'm still guessing she probably got it from Facebook, too.”

“So, in essence, you got those pictures through Facebook, I guess?”

“Yes. She just uploaded Matthew's photo yesterday evening, though.” Idara responded. “She only has two pictures on her profile, which are hers and Matthew's. Her profile used to be totally empty until yesterday evening.”

“Interesting.” Tayo commented, staring at Matthew's picture. “Out of curiosity, though, how did your hook up go with her? Was it smooth and worthwhile?”

“Smooth? No. Worthwhile? I guess.” Idara breathed. “Everything was just awkward from start to finish, Tayo. I was so mad that I stormed out of the eatery at a point, regretting why I went there in the first place.”

“I understand you, dear.” Tayo said, matter-of-factly. “It's completely normal for you to react that way. I would've reacted worse if I were in your shoes.”

“No, you wouldn't have.” Idara grimaced, kicking Tayo's foot playfully. “You're too sweet and soft to do that. In fact, you would've burst into tears and forgiven her on the spot. I know you too well.”

“No, you don't.”

“Yes, I do.”

“Look, the point is that she's still your mother, okay?” Tayo said bluntly, gesticulating with his left hand. “Granted, she has wronged you badly, but to be sincere with ourselves, we've all made terrible mistakes one way or the other. We've all messed up somehow in our lives, but do you know what makes us differ after we've messed up?”

“I don't know. Tell me.”

“What makes us differ are the choices we make after fumbling.” Tayo explained wisely. “For some people, mistakes are just natural occurrences that should be left in their past. They see it as no big deal. Others, however, are afraid to admit their wrongs. They prefer to live in self-denial than accept pure reality. They'll rather blame everyone else but themselves for their faults; always using that as a cheap means of escape from the truth, but then the guilt never really leaves them, because their conscience will always torment them till they die.”

“Hmm.”

Tayo felt motivated to go on, due to Idara's undivided attention to his speech. “And then there are people who know that mistakes are meant to be fixed, to be corrected.”

“Not all mistakes can be fixed. You know that, right?”

“Yes, I do.” Tayo nodded agreeingly. “But the ability to acknowledge one's mistakes and show remorse and seek solutions to those mistakes should never be taken for granted, because not everyone can do that, especially when pride and ego comes in.”

“Tayo,” Idara sighed, glancing at Tayo's wristwatch. “No offense but this is nine fifteen PM, and I have to sew a crochet top for someone at home. Are you getting to a particular point with this whole thing or not?”

“Relax na.” Tayo assured her, nudging her arm for the umpteeth time tonight. “Everything I'm saying is for your own good, you know.”

“Speed it up, please.” Idara complained. “We came here to have a good time, not to talk about my family issues.”

“Okay. One more question, though.” Tayo announced sharply. “Is your father aware of this issue?”

“No. I haven't told him yet.” Idara answered. “He doesn't even know that she has been contacting me for a while now. He would've received thousands of calls from her if I had given her his number all the times she begged me to. Or she would've even visited him if she knew our new address.”

“Mmm. I know I said one more question, but I just can't help it this time. I'm so curious. Why don't you want to tell him?”

“I don't know, man. I guess I just feel like keeping him in the dark is the best thing to do, for now.”

“Okay. Now, listen up.” Tayo said, a serious look in place. “Your mother belongs to the last category I mentioned before. She's truly sorry and wants to make amends with you. Judging from your explanation, she obviously regrets her mistakes, and you can tell that from the deep things she told you two days ago. Don't you think she deserves a second chance?”

“Sure!” Idara giggled sarcastically. “So I'm supposed to just forgive her and pretend like nothing ever happened, right?”

Tayo breathed in. “Idara, even God Almighty forgives us when we sin. Why're you so uptight?”

“Tayo, no disrespect but you're just talking this way because you don't know how it feels to be me. You have a caring mother who you visit at least twice a month with Anastasia, so you can't possibly relate. This is bigger than you.”

“Maybe it is, maybe I can't relate, but one thing I'm sure of is that pain changes people. Pain makes people uptight and untrustful, so you might want to loosen up a bit before pain overwhelms you and turns you to a monster.” Tayo advised calmly. “Forgiveness doesn't cost a thing, Elle. I won't tell you what to do, but deep inside you already know what's right from wrong. Let's leave it at that.”

“Thank you!” Idara facepalmed, sighing with relief. “It's about time!”

Speechless, Tayo rose up to his feet, before pulling Idara up as well.

“Why does it look like you're mad at me, though?”

“I'm not.” Tayo smiled, dusting his jeans. “But I will be if you put on that wig again, like you're about to do now.”

Idara chuckled. “Is it your wig?”

“Obviously not, but you're better off without it.” Tayo confessed, making Idara blush. “I don't think you know how beautiful you are, Dara.”

“Please, don't start.” Idara rolled her eyes, wearing her wig despite Tayo's disapproval. “How do I look?”

“You look like Angelina Jolie—”

“Aww!”

“You didn't let me finish.” Tayo giggled. “I was going to say you look like Angelina Jolie battling with stage four cancer.”

“You jerk!” Idara punched Tayo's chest, laughing. “You're just jealous because I'm finer than your girlfriend.”

Tayo smirked, dusting his chest like a boss, as though Idara's punch was nothing. “And who says I have a girlfriend, luv?”

Idara smirked too, biting her lower lip, seeing the sincerity and thirst in Tayo's eyes. “I wonder what's going through your mind right now.”

“So am I.” Tayo felt the sudden high tempo of his heartbeat. “What're you thinking, Elle?”

“Actually, with the way you're staring at my lips, I can tell what you have in mind, T.” Idara wetted her lips on purpose, torturing Tayo deliberately. “But trust me, I have nothing close to that in mind. I'm actually thinking of getting ice-cream for us as compensation for my whole family issues talk earlier. Interested?”

Feeling a little bit embarrassed, Tayo nodded. “Yes, I'm in.”

That said, both friends exited the garden and got ice-cream from a tented shop, and then they went to sit on Tayo's car's trunk lid afterwards.

“Guy, did I even tell you I was robbed two days ago?”

“What?” Tayo swallowed, widening his eyes. “Seriously?”

“Seriously.” Idara licked the top of her ice-cream, shrugging. “It was on the same night I met my mom. Yomi and I were heading back home when his car had a flat tyre, and it was raining heavily that night, so we had to hop in the only available car we saw. We thought that the three occupants of the car wanted to help us, but little did we know that we had walked right into their trap. They got us right where they wanted us.”

“Goodness!” Tayo's mouth almost fell open. “What'd they steal from you both?”

“Well, basically, they took our phones and money.” Idara raised an eyebrow. “I'm kinda surprised that you're just hearing about this, though.”

“Why? Who else knows about it?”

“Dude, like, all our friends are literally aware.” Idara said briskly. “Including your sister. She was the very first person I actually told,” she added. “Didn't she inform you at all?”

“No! If she did, I would've reached out to you immediately. You know me.”

“Weird.” Idara muttered, chewing a piece of her ice-cream cone. “I find it strange that Anastasia would actually tell this stuff to her boyfriend on phone in my presence, but she never even told you anything at all. Are you guys fighting or something?”

“Nah,” Tayo swallowed again, “maybe she just forgot to.”

“Well, maybe.” Idara breathed out, eyeing Tayo's ice-cream, because she was almost done with hers.

Tayo noticed. “Wait, let me get this straight,” his gaze dropped on Idara's smartphone, which was resting on her thighs. “Your phone was stolen from you, yet you called me with the same number today and with this phone right here that looks exactly like your former phone. Something's not adding up here.”

“Smart-ass!” Idara smirked, stroking Tayo's goatee. “Well, I retrieved my number and got a new phone yesterday. And yes, it looks just like my former phone because it's a slightly higher model of it, and the pouch is exactly like the former one, that's probably why you didn't notice anything earlier.”

“Crazy.” Tayo shook his head. “This city is just unbelievable. It's like everywhere we turn, we see death, theft and whatnot. I'm really sorry about what happened to you and Yomi. It's part of the things we see in Lagos.”

“Yeah.” Idara burst into laughter. “Damn!”

Tayo was quite startled that he had to ask her, “Why are you laughing?”

“Guy, I just remembered something sick.”

“What?”

“Omo, would you believe that one of the robbers legit told us "Welcome to Lagos, baby!" after kicking us outta their car?”

“For real?” A wide grin graced Tayo's face, as his eyebrows shot up. “That's sick!”

“I know, right?” Idara snorted. “Anyway, are you gonna finish that ice-cream or not?”

“Honestly, I'm full.” Tayo admitted, giving it to her. “You can have it if you want.”

“I want! Thank you!”

In less than a minute, Idara devoured Tayo's ice-cream and then jumped down from the car's hood after checking the time on her phone.

“It's getting late, T.” Idara tapped Tayo's knee twice. “Let's move.”

“Already?”

“Come on jor.” Idara pulled him down with care. “We've had enough fun tonight. It's time to go home.”

Nodding his head, Tayo led Idara to the passenger seat, then he closed the door after she'd gotten in, and then he hopped in the car as well.

“Thank you for hanging out with me tonight, Dara.” Tayo turned on the lights in his car, so that he could have a proper look at the goddess sitting beside him. “I'm more than grateful for your time.”

“No, thank you for acknowledging my request, Tayo.” Idara smiled confidently. “I'm beyond honored to chill with you despite your busy schedule. Thank you so, so much!”

“You're welcome, Elle.” Tayo winked at her, smiling. “It's my utmost pleasure.”

Weirdly enough, one thing Idara noticed about Tayo so far was his gentlemanly nature. Ever since they flexed together tonight, he didn't even touch her roughly or hold her for long at all. They only made a few reasonable physical contact like the time when they'd brushed each other's hands by mistake while trying to scoop some popcorn from the paper bag at the cinema, and the time when he'd lifted her up from the grass at the garden.

She admired that trait of his so, so much.

“You know what?” Tayo blinked, opening his glove compartment. “Close your eyes, Elle. I have a surprise for you.”

Idara chuckled at his sweetness. “Seriously?”

“Trust me.” Tayo gave her an assuring look, pulling out a small red box with a yellow ribbon on top from his glove compartment. “Just close your eyes.”

“Okay.” Idara shut her eyes, smiling sheepishly. “What now?”

“Make sure your eyes are well closed.” Tayo untied the ribbon and opened the box, still smiling. “No cheating, okay?”

Idara snickered. “Okayyy.”

Gently, Tayo shifted the strands of hair behind Idara's head and hooked something around her neck.

“You can open your eyes now.”

On opening her eyes, the first thing Idara sighted was a locket necklace made of silver and gold. “Whoa!”

Tayo stared at Idara's face with hopeful eyes. “Do you like it?”

“Like it?” Idara held the golden locket, scrutinizing it with delight. “Dude, I love it!”

Tayo's smile widened at that. “In that case, maybe you should open the locket, dear.”

“Why?”

“Just do it. You'll see why.”

“All right, then.” Idara obeyed and was instantly blown away by the locket's content. “Oh, my God!”

Inside the locket laid a digitally-colored hand-drawn image of Idara's face smiling sweetly, with a blue butterfly hanging on her hair. The image looked exactly like her, with every necessary detail of her features present in it.

“Who drew this masterpiece, Tayo?”

“I did.”

“You did?” Idara's eyes widened. “That's not true! You can't draw!”

“Says who?” Tayo gnawed on his bottom lip, amused by Idara's doubt. “You obviously don't know me as well as you claimed earlier, don't you think?”

Idara chortled, knowing she'd been caught off guard. “Yeah, you're right.” Her eyes slowly travelled down to the beautiful locket in her hands. “God, I feel so special tonight.”

Before Tayo could even respond to that, Idara leaned in and hugged him passionately.

“Tayo, I honestly don't know how to thank you enough.” She confessed with her eyes closed, as Tayo embraced her too. “You've just made my entire year with this priceless gift. I've never felt this special before in my life. Thank you so much!”

“It's okay, Elle.” Tayo revelled in the warmth of Idara's body, basking in the freshness of her cologne. “It's all right.”

Slowly, Idara pulled back, smiling. “Can I ask you something?”

Tayo nodded. “Sure.”

“Why are you always tense around me?” She asked lightly. “I mean, like, whenever we are together, you don't touch or hold me like I do. I'm the one who always does stuff like hugging you, caressing your goatee and so on. Why?”

“You noticed?” Tayo said awkwardly, swallowing hard. “Well, it's not like I don't find you attractive or anything, Elle. The thing is I'm just reserved and cautious, especially with you. I wouldn't want you to see me as a desperate guy or something. Do you understand what I mean?”

“Yeah, I do, and I love that.” Idara admitted, stroking her necklace. “I understand that it's your nature, T, but can you kindly loosen up a bit from now on, please?”

Tayo nodded and extended his open hand to Idara in response.

She laughed, holding his hand without hesitation. “Now that's what I'm talking about!”

With a proud smile on his face, and with automatic confidence coursing through his veins, Tayo said, “Now, can I ask you something, Elle?”

Idara nodded her consent to him.

“Would you mind if I said I loved you?”

Idara blinked as her heart skipped a beat at that. What was she supposed to tell him? She wasn't prepared for this phase at all. What if she consents to his proposal immediately, would it make her look cheap to him? Or was she even ready for commitment?

Besides, what about Yomi? A tiny part of her still harbored feelings for him — deep feelings that she wanted to kill by all means. So, if loving Tayo was the way out, then so be it.

“Why would I mind?” Idara's face lit up with a pretty grin. “Can't you see I love you, too?”

Fireworks literally went off in Tayo's head. He definitely didn't expect a positive answer from Idara, and a direct one at that. “You love me?”

“Yes.” Idara leaned into Tayo, planting a kiss on the back of his hand. “I love you.”

Gazing into Idara's eyes, Tayo felt a cold chill running up his spine. “I wish I could kiss you right now.”

“What's stopping you, then?”

Hearing that, Tayo instantly knew that the woman in his sight was faithfully down for him. There was no need wasting time anymore, because the feeling was mutual, and pure.

So, as Tayo leaned in and held her chin, Idara closed her eyes and felt his lips on hers, roaming about gently and sweetly. She relaxed, exploring every inch of his mouth with her tongue. He tasted like ice-cream, so sweet, creamy and divine.

If there was one thing Idara cherished at this moment, it was definitely the peace of mind it came with. It was something she rarely experienced with Yomi, which was exactly why she felt at ease, enjoying the moment to the fullest.

Hopefully, moments like this would always come by, because she'd made up her mind not to ever deprive herself of happiness, ever again!